Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Steve and I celebrated our 19th anniversary today! 19 years?! Where does the time go?! I can still remember the first time we met. We were going to school at OSU and we were at a dance club on one of my first weekends in Stillwater. He asked me to dance and I told him, "No thanks." Four years later, we were married and the rest is history ;-)

We already celebrated early last month when Steve surprised me with tickets to see my favorite band ever, U2. It was a quick, but fun, getaway to Denver and back in one weekend.

But we had to do something to celebrate on our actual day - well, the day before anyway. (The girls had a Swim Meet tonight so we went out last night instead.) This time I surprised Steve with something I wasn't so sure he'd actually like. In fact, I was a little afraid he would think it was silly and super cheezy. I bought a Groupon from Golzern Pedicabs - you know, the little cabs that are pulled by someone on a bike? I have to say, it was so much fun and yes, Steve actually liked it!

We met at 8th & Boston in downtown Tulsa. We were given a list of about 15 restaurants in the area and could pick up to six that we would like to stop and visit (the cost of the food was also included in our Groupon!). Our tour guide, Beth, then drove us to our first stop, Joe Mommas Pizza, where we ate yummy pizza bread and marinara sauce...

Next stop, a restaurant called Trula, which was located at the Mayo Hotel. We had some really good sliders with sweet potato fries. While there, we ran into an old friend of mine from college who knew Steve and I when we first started dating! Small world! ;-)

After stopping twice for food, we were already getting full and we knew right away we wouldn't be able to eat at 6 restaurants in one night! So we decided to make our last stop El Guapos. They have outdoor seating on their roof so we just hung out, watched the sun go down, and snacked on chips, salsa & sopapillas...

When it was time for our evening to come to an end, Beth took us on a scenic route of the downtown area. She was very knowledgable about the history and architecture of the buildings and shared all kinds of neat info with us. She also gave us "the scoop" of what new things were coming to the area such as an art gallery, upscale apartments and a park that will host outdoor concerts...

Since we only used 3 of our 6 restaurant choices, Beth gave us gift cards for the last 3 restaurants we wanted to visit, and now we can just stop by whenever we have a chance! So now we look forward to trying out Elote', Mod's Coffe and Crepes, and Yokozuna soon. Beth also informed us that they'll be offering another Groupon in August but this one will also include a hotel stay :-) I highly recommend Golzern Pedicabs! We had such a fun and romantic night and it was a neat and unique way to see downtown!

So that was yesterday. Today our girls surprised us! They decorated our house with streamers - something they like to do for most any occasion ;-)

Then, after the girl's Swim Meet, they planned a surprise party for us - something that was apparently in the works for several days now ;-) Steve's family were at the Meet so they stopped by on their way home and brought brownies for desert. The kids played in the sprinkler and gave Steve & me homemade cards...

It was the perfect ending of celebrating 19 years together. I'm one lucky/blessed girl to have Steve in my life and I truly believe God brought us together. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Steve and I met on one of our first weekends at OSU - thing is, I wasn't supposed to go to OSU. I was supposed to go to OU. I come from a family of HUGE OU fans and everyone in my family attended school there. When I was in high school, I applied to OU and was accepted but just weeks before school was to start, I received a letter in the mail that said they were not going to offer my degree anymore (fashion merchandising). So I quickly had to apply to OSU (at the heartbreak of all my family). Had I gone to OU, I'm pretty sure things would have turned out much differently - can't even imagine, nor do I want to. Steve is everything I could ever want in a husband and father of my children - and more.

So next year's the Big 20! Better start thinking about it now! Any suggestions?! ;-)

And we made Blueberry Banana Bread with the blueberries we picked at the patch. You can find the recipe here. Yummers!

We went swimming at the Dossett's, a retired teacher and principal that has taught swimming lessons out of their home for many, many years. Everyone in Owasso knows and loves the Dossett's! We also made some yummy Sun Baked Smores. Messy but goooood! ;-)

And my sweet friend, Steph, came in town for a brief visit so we had a little reunion get-together playdate at the park...

Thanks for Stopping By!

This is a blog I kept up of our family from about 2008-2013. I always say "I don't scrapbook. I blog." It's fun to look back the fun memories we made. It's true when they say, "Don't blink because your kids grow up that fast!"

(I now keep a blog of our family on a page called, "Keep Calm and Love Big" although I don't write as much as I'd like to - just not enough time in the day! We also have an adoption blog where we post updates called "Arms Wide Open".)